Hugs
by Niki Bogwater
Summary: Every now and then, Link just needs to be touched. Post Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Fluffy drabble thingy to celebrate my one-year anniversary of writing fan-fiction. (See the fancy cover art? I don't own it!)


Link was not the touching sort of person.

Oh, sure, he touched Malon sometimes, little hugs here and there, offering a hand up, not to mention those few times they'd been caught kissing in the barn behind Epona's stall (Talon wondered how a boy who said so few things managed to say so much just by kissing). But he wasn't the snuggly type.

Maybe it was because his hands were always so rough after years of swordsmanship, or maybe it was because he thought Malon looked to delicate, like one touch would shatter her. Maybe he resisted that hungry desire Malon often caught shining through his eyes to hold the baby because he feared he underestimated his natural strength. Either way, Link seemed to avoid unnecessary touching, which had made him the odd in-law in Malon's extended family, who considered hugging to be some kind of athletic sport, he noticed.

And then there were those times when, unbidden, Malon would feel his arms suddenly wind about her in a desperate sort of grasp, and when she turned to ask him what was wrong, he just held her tighter against his chest and trembled. There were several instances where his eyes would ignite as though he was petrified, and he'd go dashing from the room to find their daughter, just to swoop her up and out of some unknown danger. Ingo had suggested that they get the poor boy's head checked for signs of hallucinating, but Talon had thumped him over the head and told him to shut his trap about it.

Malon did wonder about what he saw, though, and often brought the subject up when he wasn't in a state like that. But he would just look at her with those blue eyes, deep as Lake Hylia and captivating as a love potion, and she found that she couldn't find the heart to press the issue further. Especially since she discovered that reminding him of this peculiarity would, more often than not, prompt nightmares during his sleep.

When Link dreamed, he dreamed big. When he had a nightmare, it was as though someone had shoved a sliver of Hell into his head. And when his frantic cries awoke her in the middle of the night, Malon couldn't shake the deeply ingrained sense of guilt that she had brought this upon him. She understood very little about the things he experienced in his dreams. When she managed to snap him out of it, she could sometimes get him to say one or two things about his horrific past, but nothing more than a handful of names, places, and a regretful "I can't tell you."

Then he would hug her. But it wasn't an uncomfortable sort of embrace, which clearly said _I don't want to do this, but I have to be polite _sort of hug, which he often had to give to his in-laws_. _When Link held onto her, he could communicate everything he was afraid to speak out loud, and that seemed to provide a great deal of comfort for him. There was his typical _I love you _hug, which was very gentle but very affectionate at the same time. Then there was his _I love you so much, I feel like I'm going to explode _hug, where he would lift her up and hold her tight as he twirled her around. She had only experienced this hug once, when she told him she was pregnant, but she thought it was her favorite kind of hug. There was also his _I've got you _hug, which was a firm, reassuring grip, arms wound tightly around her as though shielding her from some invisible force, holding her close against his chest.

But the one hug that always broke her heart just a little bit was his _I can't bear this without you _hug. It was a desperate, clinging sort of hug, where he would just hold onto her like he was begging her not to leave him. He would hide his face in the crook of her neck, and just shiver uncontrollably, trying fruitlessly to hold back the tears. Malon would feel helplessly inadequate as she stroked his messy, golden hair, offering what little comfort she could, which wasn't nearly enough to take away all of his pain. But he held on, sometimes for hours, and when he pulled away, he acted like she was substantial enough reassurance for the endless shadows that plagued his mind. And then he would give her one more hug, his _Thank you_ hug, which was very similar to his _I love you _hug, still gentle, still affectionate, but just a little more so. Then he'd brush her hair back in a familiar gesture of appreciation, like nothing had happened, and kiss her cheek before laying back down to dream again, this time of sweeter things.

Maybe she couldn't take away the darkness left behind from his past, but she could give him the light of a better future. And that, she mused as she snuggled against him, laying a hand over his heart and feeling the familiar, rhythmic dance beneath her fingers, was really what being a family was all about.

**A/N: No, I haven't given up on Sweet Sanctuary. But I realized a little while ago that next month will mark my one year anniversary of my first complete fan-fiction, the strangely successful "Princess" (not one of my best works, but definitely one of my most popular ones) and its sequel, "Queen." So I decided to celebrate this prematurely by posting yet another fluffy oneshot to fall into that series. Perhaps this is a bit darker than my first two, but I find Link's character to be so complex and so intriguing that I wanted to dig a little deeper into his psyche, maybe expand on some of the work I've done on him in "Sweet Sanctuary." Anyways, reviews are nice, but I've discovered that most people don't want to go to the trouble of leaving them. But for those few who decide to do so, I will send them one of Link's virtual ****_Thank you _****hug for the effort.**

**Ciao!**

**-Niki Bogwater**


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